MarginaliaAn. 1549. Christ left it, as þ^e Apostles vsed it, as holy fathers deliuered it in deede somwhat altered from that the Popes of Rome, for their lucre brought to it. And although ye may heare þ^e contrary of some popish euyl mē, yet our maiestie, which for our honor maye not be blemished nor stained, assureth you, that they deceiue you, abuse you, and blowe these opinions into your heades for to finish their own purposes.

Marginalia [illegible text] And so likewise iudge you of confirmation of children: and let them answeare you this one question. Thinke they that a childe christened is damned because it dyeth before bishopping?Marginalia[illegible text] They bee confirmed at the tyme of discretion, to learne that they professed in the lacke therof, by Baptisme: taught in age, that which they receyued in infancie, and yet no doubt but they be saued by Baptisme, not by confirmatiō, and made Christes by Christening, and taught how to continue by Confirmation. Wherfore in the whole, marke good subiectes, how our doctrine is founded vpon true learnyng, and theirs vpon shameles errors.

To conclude, beside our gentle maner of information to you, what so euer is contained in our booke, eyther for Baptisme, sacrament, masse, Confirmation, and seruice in the church, is by our parlament established, by the whole clergie agreed, yea by the bishops of the realme deuised, & further, by Gods word confirmed. And how dare ye trust, yea how dare ye geue [illegible text] without tremblyng, to any singular person to disalow a parlamēt, a subiect to perswade against our maiestie a man of his single [illegible text], agaynst the determination of the bishops and al the clergie, any inuented argument against the word of God? But now you our subiectes, we resort to a greater matter of your blindnes, of your vnkindes, a great vnnaturalnes, and such [illegible text] we thought it had not begon of ignorannce and continued [illegible text] certayne traytors among you, which [illegible text] in their [illegible text] we could not be [illegible text] vse our sword and do [illegible text] God, that is, to redresse your [illegible text] and zeale yet [illegible text] that wyll [illegible text] we would ye were [illegible text] informed then forced, taught then [illegible text] pacified then rigorously persecuted.

MarginaliaThe rebels require the vi. Articles. Ye require to haue the statute of the sixe articles reuiued: and [illegible text] ye require? Or knowe ye what ease you haue [illegible text]? They wer lawes made, but quickly repented, to bloudy they were to bee borne of our people, & yet at the first, in dede made of some necessitie. Oh subiects, how are ye trapped by subtyle persons? We of pitty, because they were bloudy, toke them away, & you now of ignorance, [illegible text] aske them again. You know ful wel, that they helped vs to extend rigor, & gaue vs cause to draw our sword very often: they were as a whetstone to our sword and for your causes [illegible text] to vse them. And since our mercy moued vs to write our lawes with mylke & equitie: how be ye blinded to aske them in bloud?

MarginaliaThe vi. Articles [illegible text]. But leauyng this maner of reasoning, & resorting to the truth of our authoritie, we let you wyt, the same hath bene adnulled by our parlament, with great reioyce of our subiectes, & not now to be called by subiects in question. Dare then any of you, with the name of a subiect, stand against an act of parlament, a law of the whole realme? What is our power, if lawes should be thus neglected? Yea, what is your surety, if lawes be not kept? Assure you most surely, that we of no earthly thing vnder þ^e heauē, make such a reputation as we do of this one thing, to haue our law obeyed, & this cause of God which we haue taken in hand, to be thorough mainteinedMarginaliaA [illegible text] zeale and [illegible text]. from the which we wyl neuer remoue a heares breadth, nor geue place to any creature liuyng, muche les to any subiect, but therin wyl spend our own royal person, our crowne treasure realme & al our state: whereof we assure you of our high honor. For herein in dede resteth our [illegible text] our kingdome, herein do all kynges knowledge [illegible text] a king. And shall any of you dare breathe or [illegible text]: our kingdome, or crowne?

MarginaliaThe kinges age. In the end of this your request (as we be geuē to vnderstand) ye would haue them stand in force vntil our ful age. To this we thinke,if ye knewe what ye spake, ye woulde neuer haue vttered the motion, nor euer geuē breath to such a thought. For what thinke you of our kingdome? Be we of lesse [illegible text] for our age? Be we not your king now, [illegible text] ye be subiectes hereafter, and now are [illegible text] the right we shal haue? If ye would [illegible text] our doinges in doubt vntil our ful age, ye must [illegible text] no difference of yeares nor [illegible text] man and creature of God, we haue [illegible text] shall haue age: [illegible text] we are your rightfull kyng, your liege Lord, your king annoynted, your king crowned, MarginaliaA king possesseth his crowne not by yeares but by Gods ordinaunce.the soueraygne king of England, not by our age, but by Gods ordinance, not only when we shall be. xxi. of yeares, but when we were of. x. yeares. We possesse our crown, not by yeares, but by the bloud and discent, frō our father king Henry the eyght. You are our subiectes because we be your king, and rule we wyl, because God hath willed. It is as great a fault in vs, not to rule, as in a subiect not to obey.

If it be considered, they which moue this matter, if they durst vtter thēselues, would deny our kingdome. But our good subiectes know their prince, & wyl encrease, not diminish his honor, enlarge, not abate his power, knowledg not differre his kingdome to certaine yeares: al is one, to speake against our crowne, &to deny our kingdome, as to require that our lawes may be broken vnto. xxi. yeares. Be we not your crowned, annoynted, & established king? Wherein then be we of lesse maiestie, of lesse authoritie, or lesse state, then our progenitors kngs of this realme: except your vnkindnes, your vnnaturalnes wyll diminish our estimation. We haue hytherto, since the death of our father, by the good aduise and counsaile of our deare and entierly beloued vncle, kept our state, maintayned our Realme, preserued our honour, defended our people from all enemies: We haue hytherto bene feared and dread of our enemies: yea, of princes, kynges, and nations: yea, herein we be nothing inferiors to any our progenitours (which grace we knowledge to be geuē vs from God) & how els, but by good obedience of our people, good counsaile of our magistrates, due execution of our lawes. By authoritie of our kingdome, Englande hytherto hath gained honor: during our raigne, it hath wonne of the enemy, and not lost.

MarginaliaYoūg yeares hyndereth not the royal gouernmēt of a realme. It hath bene marueyled, that we of so young yeares haue raigned so nobly, so royally, so quietly. And how chanceth it, that you our subiectes, of that our countrey of Deuonshire, wyll geue the first occasion to sclaunder this our Realme of Englande, to geue courage to the enemye, to note our Realme of the euill of rebellion, to make it a pray to our old enemies, to diminish our honor, which God hath geuen, our father leaft, our good vncle and Counsaile preserued vnto vs? What greater euyll could ye committ, then euen now when our forreine enemie in Scotland and vpon the sea seeketh to inuade vs, to arise in this maner against our lawe, to prouoke our wrath, to aske our vengeance, and to geue vs an occasion to spend that force vpon you, which we meant to bestow vpon our enemies: to begin to slay you with that sworde which we drewe forth against þ^e Scots and other enemies: to make a conquest of our owne people, which otherwise should haue bene of the whole Realme of Scotland.

Thus farre ye see we haue descended frō our high maiestie for loue, to consider you in your base and simple ignorance & haue ben content to send you an instruction like a fatherly prince, who of Iustice might haue sent you your destruction like a king to rebels, & now let you now, that as you see our mercy abundāt, so if ye prouoke vs further, we sweare to you by the liuyng god, by whō we raigne, ye shal feele the power of the same God in our sword: which howe mighty it is no subiect knoweth, how puissant it is, no priuate man can iudge, how mortall it is, no English hart dare thinke. But surely surely, as your Lord and Prince, your onely king and maister, we say to you, repent your selues & take our mercy without delay, or els we wyll forthwith extend our princely power, and execute our sharpe sworde against you, as against very Infidels and Turkes, and rather aduenture our owne royal person, state, and power, thē the same shal not be executed.

And if you wyll proue the example of our mercy, learne of certaine which lately dyd arise, pretending some griefes, and yet acknowledging their offences, haue not only receyued most humbly their pardon, but feele also by our order, to whom al publike order onely perteyneth, redresse deuised for their griefes. In the end we admonish you of your dueties to God, whom ye shal answeare in the day of the Lord, and of your dueties toward vs, whom ye shal answeare by our order, and take our mercy whilest God so enclineth vs, least whē ye shal be cōstrained to aske, we shal be to much hardened in hart to graunt it you: and where ye shall nowe heare of mercy, mercy and lyfe, ye shal then heare of iustice, iustice and death.

Geuen at Richmond the. 8. day of Iuly,
the third yeare of our raigne.

MarginaliaA supplication of the rebells to the king, with the kinges aunswere to the same. Besides the Articles of these Deuonshire men aboue mentioned, the said rebels sent vp also not long after a supplication to the kyng, wherunto answere againe was made by the kings learned Counsaile, which here to make short, leysure serueth not to rehearse.

Ouer and besides, to behold the malitious workyng of those popishe Priestes, to kindle more the sparke of sedition